There are lots of reasons why creating your own Christmas gifts and stationary makes sense. Receiving a personalised, handmade gift means so much more than mass marketed products that offer little in the way of thought or meaning. And then of course there is the expense of buying the usual mountain of gifts and cards. So this year, why not get a little creative and make your own. It really is not as difficult as you might first think.

Designing and making your own cards

The hobby of making and designing greetings cards is a growing one. There are a number of hobby craft stores offering great prices on paints, card, ribbon, rubber stamps and more so you can easily build yourself a basic tool kit from which to start.

To begin with you should aim to create simple designs, unless of course you are very artistic. The use of a tool such as a rubber stamp will help you to quickly produce a quality design, even if you are hopeless at drawing.

Making your own gifts

The list of gifts you can make is endless, but some of the more practical and thoughtful gifts you can quickly create at home include:

Adding the personalised touch means you can incorporate photos, names, dates etc and this is far more likely to produce a christmas gifts the recipient will treasure.

Now is the time to start your new hobby as you may require a little practice before producing the "finished article". Buy yourself a basic tool kit with all the essentials and you are ready to get to work. And I am sure that as soon as you experience the gratitude your handmade gift or card will more than likely receive you may find it hard to ever purchase a mass market gift again!